No pet photos

He’s the first president in more than a century without a pet – so no cute pictures of a first dog, marking another departure from tradition.

Bo and Sunny, the Portuguese water dogs, featured in several Obama Christmas photo-opportunities.

In the George W Bush White House, Barney, a Scottish terrier, once inspected presents under the tree.

Socks, the Clintons’ cat, wore a Santa hat.

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Image caption
Spot the difference – 2013 (top) and 2017

‘Bah, humbug’ for the media

Under previous administrations, the president held a press conference in the briefing room in December. Trump’s not likely to do that.

One administration aide told me that she thinks it’s beneath him to appear in the briefing room. Instead the president talks to reporters on the south lawn, in the Oval Office or on Air Force One, places where he seems to feel comfortable.

Besides that, he’s invited a smaller number of reporters to the White House to celebrate the holidays.

The party invitations have gone out, but a CNN spokesperson said they weren’t going to attend because of “the president’s continued attacks on freedom of the press and CNN”.